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Stamwalk is on!

Update: This walk from John O'Groats to Land's End started in July 2017. Visit Tim's Stamwalk blog for his latest blog posts on it.

There’s been a fantastic response to our call for support for Stamwalk. As a result, Norbert and I made the decision on Monday to go for it. The number of you who have responded has shown that we have the core of support necessary. But that’s only the start. To make the impact we want we need as many of you as possible to get involved.

Just to remind you, I’m going to walk from John O’Groats to Land’s End, meeting and talking to people about stammering all along the way. Start date is 27th July. Dates and timings of the entire route are already on the Stamwalk page.

As some of you know I’m very keen that we should talk about stammering. Talking openly about our stammer is something that many people who stammer find incredibly helpful. And talking about stammering to our friends, our colleagues, and the general public is essential if we want them to understand what it’s all about.

There’s been a lot of brilliant talking about stammering lately - ESN, DSN, radio and television interviews and documentaries, conferences and seminars. It’s an exciting time for people who stammer, and you get the feeling that a momentum for change is building. Now it’s time to walk the talk.

Walking the talk from John O’Groats to Land’s End is a visible demonstration that people who stammer live and work throughout the country, with no boundaries of background, profession, race, religion or politics. It’s an opportunity for us to learn from and to help each other, to inspire each other, and to reinforce the fact that stammering is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s an opportunity to promote the benefits of speech therapy and to celebrate the amazing people who work in that profession. And it’s an opportunity to turn around the public’s negative reactions towards stammering that persist today into an appreciation of the wealth of talent that people who stammer have to offer.

Stamwalk is also about the BSA, and how it can do the best for people who stammer. As BSA Chair, I’m very happy to take the lead. But we need lots more help. The success of Stamwalk will be measured by how many people we can involve and include. So please get in touch if you can support us. You can support by walking with me for as long or short a distance as you want. You can support by arranging an event on the night I’m in town, remembering to invite the local newspaper reporter along. You can support by spreading the word on social media. And if you have a spare bed in the house I will gladly, and gratefully, sink into it.

Stamwalk is also an opportunity to raise funds for the BSA. All money raised will go towards funding the activities of the BSA and will not be used to cover the costs of the walk itself. You can donate atwww.justgiving.com/stamwalk or donate by texting STAM53 £5/£10 (delete as appropriate) to 70070. So if you wanted to donate £5 you need to text STAM53 £5 to 70070. You can't donate more than £10 through Textgiving.